Michigan State University
14-11, 6-8
Wisconsin
18-6, 10-4
No. 13 Badgers Sweep Spartans 3-0 in Madison
11/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
SPARTAN SYNOPSIS
Michigan State struggled in its Sunday matinee at No. 13 Wisconsin, falling 3-0 (12-25, 13-25, 17-25). MSU falls to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is now 18-6, 10-4 in Conference play. MSU found itself in early holes and couldn't stop the Badgers from putting together sizeable runs in the first two sets, trailing by double-digits that it couldn't overcome. It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Spartans, all in league play, which is MSU's longest skid since a six-game streak in the 2010 season.
- SET ONE: Wisconsin jumped out to a 7-1 lead, getting three terminations and a pair of blocks, and pushed it out to 13-3 as the Badger block remained active (four stuffs) and the home team connected for six kills on their first 10 swings. MSU put together a 4-1 run, fueled by two kills and a block by Brooke Kranda, to pull back within seven (15-8) after trailing by as many as 11. At 19-10, MSU called its second timeout, but the Spartans couldn't get much going and fell, 25-12. Kranda had three of MSU's kills in the frame, as the Spartans struggled through a 4-9-22 hitting performance.
- SET TWO: A 7-4 Badger lead was erased by a 3-0 Spartan run, on kills by Garvelink and Toliver and a service ace by Rachel Minarick. The home team came out of its first called timeout with back-to-back points, but a kill by Toliver off the block got MSU the sideout. The Spartans were forced to call both of their timeouts, but it couldn't stop the Wisconsin rally, as UW continued to push forward in a 14-3 run that pushed the home lead to 21-10. The Spartans got a kill and a block by Fitterer out of the second break, and a pair of Badger errors allowed MSU to pull within 10 (23-13), but UW closed out the second-set win on a kill by Lauryn Gillis and a Spartan error to take the 2-0 match lead.
- SET THREE: The teams were tied at 5-5, but the Badgers pulled ahead by five 13-8, greatly aided by three MSU hitting errors and a blocking error. As it did in the opening two sets, the Badgers consistently and methodically built and padded their lead, and were ahead by eight (20-12) when MSU called its second and final timeout. The teams each scored five points in the balance of the match, but there wasn't a comeback for the Spartans in the cards as the Badgers continued to pick their spots and closed out the win in a 25-17 third-set win.
QUOTABLE
"It's difficult to put into words how disappointed I am in how we executed in all phases of the match today. We had a great opportunity to test ourselves against a team that is seasoned and has experience, and we just struggled to get anything going. It's not something we can allow our team to dwell on, because Nebraska will come in on Wednesday looking to make a statement as well. It's time to have a strong two days of practice and get our heads right to attack the last three weeks of this Big Ten schedule and try to climb the standings."
Head Coach Cathy
TOP PERFORMERS
- Brooke Kranda had eight kills to lead the Sprartans.
- Allyssah Fitterer posted a team-best four blocks and added three kills, hitting .286.
- Rachel Minarick recorded 20 assists, four digs, and three blocks.
STATS AND STORYLINES
- MSU is now 26-48 all-time against Wisconsin, as the Badgers have won the last four meetings over three seasons.
- MSU was out-blocked for the sixth straight match (8-6), after being out-blocked just twice in its first eight Big Ten contests.
- MSU failed to have any players with double-digit kills for just the second time this season (Penn State on Oct. 24).
- The Spartans had season-lows in kills (24), assists (23) and digs (19)in the match.
- MSU had eight service errors and had 24 hitting errors, and had its worst hitting percentage of the season (0.012). MSU's previous low was .099 vs. Penn State.
- The Spartans get their first home match since Oct 24, and host No. 8 Nebraska on Wednesday at 7 p,m. at Jenison Field House
